From my pantry – Organic Gentle rice and honey exfoliant

Nature knows best….As a woman, beauty is among my top concerns, not in a superficial way but rather as a conscious interest, so much so that I’ve been practicing the craft of organic beauty recipes on my own for a while, being able to corroborate significant improvements in my skin complexion. Sure, there are wonderful products in the market which work well, but it is always in our best interest to confide in nature’s undeniable properties where possible.

Among many other organic ingredients, rice has for a few months now become one of my favorite home beauty therapies, today I’d like to share with you a simple but effective organic beauty recipe whose main ingredient is rice. It’s not a secret, and you might have already heard about it, rice has been for centuries a popular beauty element and tradition among Japanese ladies, another natural wonder whose amazing skin healing benefits aren’t just a popular myth – recent research has shown that rice starch is effective as a treatment for dry skin lesions of eczema as well as changing the texture and clarity of your skin, smoothing it and brightening dark spots.

As you know, keeping healthy and youthful skin depends on many factors, such as nutrition, lifestyle, and of course products you use, but no one can deny that beautiful skin starts with cleanliness and renovation, therefore the importance of exfoliation as part of your beauty routine.

Now, sugar might be one of the most popular ingredients used to exfoliate, but to be honest I find it too harsh on the skin. On the other hand, rice (pulverized or emulsified) is abrasive yet gently and efficiently removes impurities and dead cells without causing irritation. Unlike sugar, pulverized rice works deeply, evenly and gently, which makes it perfect for sensitive skin.

Important Note– The recipe I’ll share with you doesn’t contain preservatives, therefore you shouldn’t store it for more than 5 days and during that time you should keep it in the fridge. Otherwise simply prepare the amount you need for a single application.

What you need

Pulverized rice – You can either use a chopper or grinder to pulverize a cup of rice, or buy coarse rice bran.

Vegetable glycerin – A natural triglyceride derived from plant sources such as soy, palm and coconut oils, which thanks to its consistency will be used as a base to assist with the application of the pulverized rice on the skin. Also works as an humectant, moisturizer and cleanser.

Manuka honey – To enrich and potentiate our recipe we’ll use Manuka honey; if you don’t have Manuka honey that’s ok – you can use regular honey, but the thicker the honey, the better for dead cell removal as well as promoting radiance and glow.

Get ready a half a cup of pulverized rice, and add the honey and glycerin mix. I personally like a thick blend so I use the same amount as the glycerin (half cup), but you can add more or less rice powder depending on how soft or abrasive you want the exfoliant to be. Mix it well until you get an even and uniform paste.

Once that’s done, add your final magic drops of lemon essential oil, for a luxurious dash of fragrance and luminosity effect…As you can see in the image, I’ve made two mixtures, one more creamy that I use on the body, and a more compact and thicker one to apply onto the face. This is my preference, but you can control the texture of your final product by adding less or more rice powder, you can totally customize it to your needs!